Cheerleaders' parents sue in nude photos incident

Two were the only ones suspended

By JESSICA BLANCHARD, P-I REPORTER

Published 10:00 pm, Friday, November 21, 2008

Parents of two Bothell High School cheerleaders have sued the Northshore School District, alleging school officials erred when they suspended the girls from the team this year after nude photos of them circulated throughout the student body via text message.

School officials learned of the photos in August after receiving copies from a source they have not named, according to the lawsuits. In early September, the two teens were suspended from the cheer squad -- one for 30 days and the other for the entire school year.

The Seattle P-I is not naming the families because doing so would identify the girls, who are minors.

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Both lawsuits, filed Monday in King County Superior Court, accuse school administrators of violating the girls' due process rights, needlessly sharing the photos with other school staff members and failing to promptly report the matter to police as possible child pornography.

Attorney Matthew King, who represents both families, said it also was troubling that the teens were punished, but football players and other students at the school who sent or received the texts were not.

"We're not technically challenging the sanctions as being too strict, we're saying they weren't evenly enforced across the school," King said. "There should have been some punishment meted out to those who were in possession of the photos. ... It seems like the girls are getting the brunt of it."

Northshore spokeswoman Susan Stoltzfuscountered that school officials acted appropriately, reported the matter to police and gave both girls a chance to appeal their suspensions to a disciplinary committee and to the School Board.

"Everyone along the line agreed the discipline was appropriate," she said. "Obviously, we take these things seriously, but we really don't believe this (case) has a lot of merit."

One of the photos was taken three years ago, according to court documents. Showing the girl topless, it was sent to her then-boyfriend's phone in the summer of 2005. Later that summer, the picture accidentally was distributed to other Bothell High students, according to her lawsuit.

The other teen's photo was taken in June, when she and a fellow cheerleader used their cell phones to each snap photos of themselves naked, according to her lawsuit. Those photos were later accidentally sent to other Bothell High students, though King said it was unclear how that happened.

Shortly after the June photos were taken, school officials heard rumors the pictures were circulating among students, particularly football players. They sent a letter to all cheerleaders' parents, warning that if inappropriate photos were found, it could result in suspension from the squad.

Football players were told to delete the pictures from their cell phones if they received them, according to the lawsuits.

In August, school administrators received copies of both photos. The two sides dispute who first contacted police -- the school or the girls' parents -- and whether the parents were properly notified of the incident.

King argues the district's student handbook didn't specifically prohibit the girls' behavior, and didn't outline potential consequences for a case like this.

"My clients fully realize what they did was stupid," King said, adding that the girls never intended for the photos to be distributed and have been mortified by the entire incident.

He wants the disciplinary action expunged from the girls' school records, the remaining teen reinstated to the cheerleading squad and some form of apology from district officials for neglecting to discipline other students in the case.

Northshore officials, however, believe the girls clearly violated the district's athletic code, which students must agree to in order to participate in school activities. The girls understood that as athletes, they would be held to higher standards of behavior, Stoltzfus said.

"When you sign up to be a cheerleader -- or for any student activity -- you agree to certain codes of behavior," she said. "We consider them student leaders, and we want them to be role models."

In the lawsuits, Bothell High co-principals and assistant principals also are named as defendants.